Friday, November 28, 2008

Friday, November 21, 2008

Thanks to Candy at www.myblessedhome.blogspot.com for awarding me a blog award! I'll have to post it on my blog later. I'm short of time this evening. As Bubby would say, "Mom got a prize!" (He may only be 2 1/2, but I'm very rarely "mommy." Instead, I'm "Mom." At least he doesn't call me "Kate" anymore! It was rather disconcerting and funny to hear him say, "Hey, Kate!" when he wanted me.)

I'm making Baby Girl's Christmas stocking. I made it a bit big, but it's still cute. I dug through my fabric boxes and found some red wool and vintage black velvet. I made a ladybug stocking since that's one of her nicknames. At Walmart, I found ladybug buttons, so I'm going to sew them onto her stocking.

Samplers used to adorn quiet corners of houses with comforting or convicting phrases or verses. Nowadays, we have paste-on words for our walls or painted-on verses or shabby-chic signage to hang about. Today, as I wandered about our little cottage doing here and there chores, I thought about what verses of Proverbs 31 would go where.

Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. (In my jewelry box)

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. (The budget section of my home management binder)

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. (By the phone, where gossip tends to fall)

She seeketh woll, and flax and worketh willingly with her hands. and She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. (In my laundry/sewing area.)

She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. (My pantry)

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. (In my kitchen, especially when I'm mixing up a bottle for Baby Girl at 1 am)

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. (If I had a garden shed, it would go in there)

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. (In the living room where I keep my exercise stuff.)

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. (By the nightlight I turn on before I go to bed....to make sure I've got my chores done before turning in and that I can see at night when I must rise)

She layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands hold the distaff. (I'm not sure where to put this one....any suggestions?)

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is of silk and purple. (I'd put this near my closet to remind me to dress nicely every day and not dress like a frumpy slob.)

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. (Not sure where to put this one, either. I thought about near hubby's "throne" aka his recliner.)

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. (When the season of young child-care is over, I'd like to reopen my at-home business and this'll go there.)

Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. (In the bathroom, when I look at myself in the mirror.)

She openeth her mouth with wiedome, and in her tongue is the law of kindness. (In a very prominent part of the house to remind me every time I see it how I should behave.)

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. (Probably in the living room, perhaps near the TV where so much time can be wasted, or by the computer.)

Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. (In the nursery.)

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. (In my Bible.)

Favor is deceitful and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. (Bathroom mirror as well.)

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates. (Not sure...any suggestions?)

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Hubby cleaned out his stuff from the closet in the nursery, so I moved Baby Girl's dresser into the closet. This left a space in the nursery for a the next baby's cradle. (No, that's not a hint. I'm not preggers...yet.) To fill that space, I took the next baby's little dresser and put a lamp I got for $1.00 at a garage sale earlier this year on it. Then, I took my lady's arm chair out of the living room where it somehow became a magazine rack and put it in the empty corner. Now, I have a cozy space in the nursery where I can read books to my babies. Bubby loves it and he's not one to sit still through a book!

Out in the living room, I set up Baby Girl's pack-n-play so she has a safe place to wiggle and have tummy time without worrying about a 45 pound dog running her over or a big brother playing too roughly. (And mommy doesn't have to worry about any of big brother's toys finding their into her hands.) Bubby hated his pack-n-play, but Baby Girl is quite happy with hers.

I've admitted it. We buy toys because we want them, not because our children want them. Bubby has toys galore! Between aunts, uncles, cousins, grand-parents, garage sales and our wide circle of friends, we have a fair amount of toys for Bubby to play with. Less than most other families I've seen, but still quite a bit. The problem is, Bubby's gotten bored with many of his toys. So, I took a priority mail box, turned it inside out and cut out various doorways and labeled them (fire station, ambulance, hardware store, grocery store, auto mechanic, etc). I took masking tape and taped out roadways and parking lots on our living room rug. (Never mind that we had bought Bubby a rug that already has roads on it). He spent 2 hours playing with that box and taped roads!!

Everyone keeps asking me what they can get Baby Girl for Christmas. I have no clue. She doesn't need clothing (I can thank 2 older cousins, and a distant relative with a hobby of going to thrift stores for that). What toys could a 6 month old possibly need that Bubby hadn't already received? I'm at a loss as to what to tell them.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

FINALLY!!! Ever since we moved into our little cottage on the hill, I've been fighting the battle against soap scum and whatever else coated our bathtub and shower walls. I tried so many things and nothing could get rid of that nasty build-up and back down to the original shower and tub surface. A suggestion from an online acquaintence and a coupon for Ajax did the trick. I bought one of those plastic, no-scratch scouring pads for dishes and no-scratch Ajax and put in some oomph of my own and it WORKED!!

Ok, calling all homeschoolers out there. Do any of you have a DVD of algebra I could borrow (I'll pay shipping.) A CD-Rom won't work...computer's too slow and sick. A VHS won't work...I don't have a VHS player. If so, please e-mail me at scottlass at juno dot com.

Monday, November 17, 2008

My wonderful, fantastic, handy, handsome hubby put in heating in the basement. He also did some major cleaning. The basement is warm, dry, smells so much better and there's space!! It is slowly turning into a livable, usable space, which is important to us because our house is so small.

I read a question on another website about what the Biblical basis is for going "green." I found this odd because do we really need a Biblical basis for every tiny little thing we do in our lives? Is there a Biblical basis for playing volleyball, going fishing for pleasure, watching a Jane Austen movie, or planting a flower garden? Of course, what we do as Christians should reflect our walk with Christ.

But, is there a Biblical basis for going "green?" In a round-about way, perhaps there is. After all, God made us stewards of His creation. A steward takes good care of his charge. Taking care of the environment by living more "green" certainly is good stewardship of the earth God gave us. Also, our bodies are temples. We are to take care of them. Going green can help our bodies. We are also to be good stewards of the blessings God gives us (monetary, material, real estate, etc). Being green is often a great way to save money and make good, full use of the things we have and the things we purchase.

Have you ever read the Old Testament laws God gave the Israelites about cleanliness, etc? They lived very "green."

As a warning, though, I don't believe we as Christians should jump on the "environmentalist" band wagon because I believe environmentalism is a type of "religion" and that band wagon is heading over a cliff. After all, many leading environmentalists believe humans are bad for the earth. On woman aborted her baby and got sterilized because she believes children are bad for the environment. Many environmentalists hold animals in higher regard than humans. Going "green" shouldn't consume every inch of us. However, we should be good stewards of the earth God gave us.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Emergency Preparations have been on my mind lately. They're a reoccuring thought when one lives in the great Northeast. Winters can be unforgiving at times. I would love love love to find a small cast iron wood cookstove. My father found one at a garage sale for $25.00, but he didn't buy it and he didn't tell me until a few days later. AUGH!! I'd have put it in my basement so we could have heat and be able to cook should the power go out.

A great source for emergency preparedness supplies is Sportsmans Guide. You can get stuff like MREs, camping equipment, battery-less radios and flashlights, etc.

Friday, November 07, 2008

November hasn't meant an ease-up in our difficulties, but we're happily plugging away.

I've been working out every day this week. It's already paid off. I can get my engagement ring back on! That's no small feat. I was 105 lbs when I got engaged. I was skinny! Granted, I'm not 105 lbs now. Add about 30 lbs to that and you've got me. :) I also feel stronger and more flexible. I'm actually amazed at how strong I've gotten just in this past year and just in these past 2 months! Even hubby has squeezed my bicepts and said that I'm getting "ripped." Tee hee. It's all that baby lifting! It isn't uncommon for me to have an infant on one hip and a 2 year old on the other! Motherhood...my own personal gym. Anyhoo, I've been doing The Firm, Yoga and Pilates (I recommend Denise Austin as she doesn't get into the religious part of Yoga), and my own strength training. Some times I'll mix it up with step aerobics, my pregnancy workout (no, I'm not preggers, but I find it fun to do) or I'll go for a mommy-power walk (that's a power work with kiddos in a double stroller...so much easier now that they finally repaved my road!).

I found a recipe for baked parsnip french fries! I want to try it. I tried baked sweet potato fries and they just shriveled into nothing. Bubby has decided that all vegetables are "yucky" and he won't eat them. If a veggie does happen to enter his mouth, he literally starts to gag and heave. We're working on that. We had a break-through this afternoon when he actually took a few bites of a carrot stick and ate some of his corn on the cob. Oh, he does adore black olives and will eat them until he turns into one! Otherwise, on his food pyramid ketchup and pickles count as veggies. Potatoes will occasionally pass over his tastebuds if they're in the form of reconstituted dried processed mashes potatoes or home-made baked french fries or if he's really hungry, he'll eat a boiled potato or two.

I don't get it because I followed all the "rules" to ensure a non-picky eater and a veggie eater at that. He used to wolf down whatever was placed in front of him and he adored steamed mixed veggies, green beans, etc.

Our basement is so close to finally being heated! I went through every single box of baby clothes and was able to consolodate and organize. Now, I'm working on my pantry. I've been really careful with my grocery budget and working towards stocking up for the winter. It is only by the grace of God that I can feed my family, put gas in my car, buy formula and still have enough money for a few stock up items for only $100.00 a week!

My fishtank still sits unsold. Please pray that we sell it soon.

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? I am. I'm on mashed potato duty and green beans with cracker crumbs duty. I'm thinking of making a cake because Thanksgiving Day is Baby Girl's 6 month birthday! Although, who wants cake when there is pumpkin pie and my mom's famous crumb top apple pie!